Abusive head trauma in young children: characteristics and medical charges in a hospitalized population.

Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To describe the presenting characteristics, hospital course, and hospital charges associated with hospital admissions for head trauma in young children at a regional pediatric trauma center, and to examine whether these factors differ among abused and non-abused subjects.

METHOD:

Comparative case series study involving a retrospective medical record review of children less than 3 years of age admitted to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 1999. Subjects (n=377) were identified on the basis of ICD-9-CM codes for head injury. Subjects were classified as abused or non-abused based on standard criteria using information about the type of injuries, the history provided by the caretaker, and physical and radiographic findings.